Love the concept of this company and how there are different VR experiences to choose from. They're all adventure based, but some are scarier than others so having the options is a plus. While there are no clear steps or guidance on what to do when you walk in, the staff is there to accompany you and share next steps for getting the waiver signed and ensure that you're set up for your gaming experience. I'm giving 4/5 stars because the tech doesn't seem super reliable. Our initial visit was for Saturday but right before our call time we were informed of a couple of rooms being down and that we needed to reschedule. On our second attempt, there were audio issues in our room and the equipment looks visibly worn down. Other than that, I'm excited to experience this again because it was really fun. read more

Visited multiple times and each time is more fun than the last. Teddy, our guide was friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. This time, we played Secrets of the Shard: Dragon fire and we enjoyed ourselves. We plan on trying out Squid Game Virtuals on our next visit! read more

I've never tried a VR experience before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but this was definitely fun! They offer different rooms for each party and have different programs including the popular Squid Games. Once you're ready, you strap on all the equipment and put the VR device on. I heard that you get a workout, but I didn't believe it until I tried it. Whew, you do move around quite a bit, especially if you pick a good weapon! My brain knew it was fake, but that didn't prevent the full force of my reactions lol. Loved the video outtakes they did of how we looked in real life while playing the game read more

Took my son and his friends there for my son's 12th birthday!! They had a ball!! It was our 2nd or 3rd time going and we will be back again!! read more

I felt pressured with upsells from the start. I had to ask the salesmen to please stop. Twice. Then the gun wouldn't work. I had to raise my hand to pause the game twice during the tutorial phase so they could fix the gun. After they fixed the gun, they wouldn't let me actually do the tutorial with a working gun. So, that wasn't fun and it was so representative of the entire thing. I couldn't hear through the headphones and I now have a bruise on my forehead from the headset. I will not be recommending to anyone. If anyone asks, I'll tell them all about how bad that experience was. This sucked expensively, y'all. read more

We had an awesome time at Sandbox VR! The immersive experience was incredibly fun, and everyone in our group loved working together in the virtual world. It's a fantastic option for groups looking for a unique adventure! read more

First time doing the vr experience for my wife's birthday! We did the zombie valley and it was so immersive and great experience. We had a group of 5 and it was so much fun. The host Jeff was soo funny and nice. He made the experience more enjoyable. Yes it was a bit expensive at 50 bucks per person and I didn't think we would have this much fun; but we did. We will definitely be back. read more

Had a reservation for Friday evening for the Amber Sky experience and it was busy. Giving it 3 stars because there was a lot of technical difficulties and we had to keep pausing our gameplay, interrupting the experience. It was kind of annoying since it happened multiple times and I definitely felt uncomfortable/awkward standing there in the dark so be prepared for potential technical issues. Even after they fixed my machine, it was very glitchy and slow for me. Overall, we had fun so that's why I didn't rate it lower but I heard them refund another group/person that had issues but didn't get the same service. read more

I had previously been to this location before and had a blast. I booked another session for my brothers and I. Upon getting there I looked for my reservation couldn't find it. Asked the guy turns out I booked for the wrong day. He informed me usually it' would be an issue but seeing as no one was there at that time. We were allowed to play. My brother cheated he payed for the Gatling gun. All in all we had a great time. You will sweat a little. read more

Location was perfect, our host Lawrence was great and helpful with making our first experience an awesome one...We will definitely be going back! read more

Sandbox VR - Virtual Reality Centers Near Me - Emeryville, California

We went here to celebrate a birthday and paid $220 for 4 people. We were really excited and reviews seemed to be promising. We chose the Seekers of the Shard experience. Unfortunately, the experience lagged continuously throughout our play through. The vision was extremely blurry, one person could only see out of one eye. It took a few resets and tries but eventually it got fixed to be clear enough. The lag made us pause 5 different times with google resets and the immersion was all lost by then as the experience isn't too long. The lag was unable to be fixed for all members. Only half of us was able to enjoy the experience where as two of us couldn't see the progressions because of the lag and missed crucial parts. The audio also disconnected multiple times between the players. It was disappointing for the price. I want to emphasize that I don't think this was any of the staff's fault. During the experience we spoke to 3 employees through out various stages of the experience and they were all very patient and they don't control how the experience runs. They guided us through everything and tried their best to help resolve the issues. I'm sure it was just as frustrating for them to have to keep troubleshooting as it was for us to have a bad but expensive experience. It very much seemed to be poor quality and technology issue. We did however, feel like the employees didn't care about our experience and despite us expressing how disappointing the experience was there was no effort made to compensate us for the bad experience. They didn't even express any empathy. We didn't expect a full refund or free trip or anything but maybe a discount would have been nice since half the members didn't get to play what they paid for. Only because the experience is expensive. We were just told by the 5th pause that we are almost done anyway and to continue. We might try again at a different location. We don't want to give up on the brand just yet, but this experience didn't give us much hope for other experiences. It was very frustrating and sad. I wouldn't recommend the experience personally. At least not at this location. read more

Had a great time with my sons aged 9 and 14. They were talented fighters and not afraid! Moody helped us get ready and was a welcoming assistant! Highly recommend! read more

1st time doing this, brought my 9 and 12yr old. The guy that helped us was very nice and helped my 12yr old who is on the spectrum. We played Squid Games, and we all had a good time. I booked in advance, didn't want to risk coming down and everything was full. Will definitely be back, and highly recommend read more

August 18 between 3pm and 4pm. Worst service ever. - waited 15 minutes at the entrance and they never came to me and I clearly saw them at the back talking. - I asked them directly if someone could help me and they had the worst attitude. - They only had 1 or 2 rooms busy and the rest were clearly empty. They told me I had to wait 1 hour and I never understood why... on their website they clearly had open spots. I guess they just didn't want to do it? Maybe they were about to change shifts? I don't know - at the end I decided not to do it and I took my group of 4ppl elsewhere. read more

Jayla and Rayyan provided a great experience for us! We had the best time and their effort to make sure it was the best it could be did not go unnoticed. Thank you both! read more

I've tried this VR several times and I've had fun each time. Always a good experience, either with a date or my family.

Had such a great time! Sincere helped us with our gear and made learning to play the game so easy. He was great!

OMG! So much fun! Went there for my son's 18th bday and everyone had a blast! Pun intended. Even the folks who were just observing had a great time. read more

One star because the owner of the store failed to make things right. I booked a room for 6 people 3 weeks in advance - taking my kids and my daughter's new fiancé so we can have some fun and do some bonding. Left Petaluma on 12/26 in two cars (since we couldn't fit in one), drove just over an hour, paid for parking and showed up early as requested. We spent over half an hour in the shop both waiting after getting checked in because the group in front of us was running late. Got outfitted, walked into the room and then - nothing. After 10 more minutes the employee walks in to let us know there is a wifi issue they are trying to fix. Ten minutes after that we are told they can't fix it today and need to cancel our appointment. We're all extremely disappointed, but also understanding and polite about it because we all know that things happen. It's what you do when they happen that matters. I explained to the on-site manager that we were out 3 hours of time at that point (counting the drive home), the fiancé was headed home out-of-state in 2 days, and asked what they could do to make it right? We were willing to come back the next day, but I thought some concession would be appropriate considering a) it was their failure and b) if WE had been 5 minutes late (according to Sandbox's policy) we would have lost our entire fee. Fair is fair. The on-site manager went away and came back offering a refund of our fee AND a complimentary game. I thought that was very generous and verbally accepted. Because their system was down I was told they couldn't issue that on the spot, but I would get follow-up emails. The refund came through the next day, but nothing else. I called and talked to a different manager, who said it was not up to him but he would talk to the owner in a few minutes and call me back. Several hours later I called again and got our original manager - who confirmed he had made that offer to me but could not extend it without the owner's approval. Apparently the owner was on the phone, so he also said I would get a call back shortly. That was over 2 days ago and there has been zero communication. Based on what I have heard, that's on the owner who apparently doesn't give a shake about customer experience or goodwill. I will say the on-site managers tried to help, which I appreciate. And the staff themselves were very nice. But this is an expensive experience and the Sandbox rules on customers cancelling are very strict - so I expect reciprocal respect for my time and money. Not only did we waste 18 people hours that day, we lost our opportunity to do something fun with our newly expanded family. To the owner - I certainly won't forget this and I doubt I would bother to go back absent some follow up and an apology. If you happen to read this, go back and look at the booking for a corporate group on December 1 - that was me bringing in my team from work for a fun day out. We had a great day then and recommended this to our colleagues from other departments. I can just as easily go in next week and tell them to find something else to do. If you care to talk about this, you know who I am and have my phone number. read more

23 of my coworkers went to Sandbox VR on December 21st for a work teambuilding event. We had (4) virtual rooms for our VR experience. Although the event was fun overall, I am beyond disappointed in their customer service. After waiting 1 week, we have still yet to receive one of our team videos. I spoke with one of their associates several times (who had a tone in his voice every time) between a span of a few days, and was told they were too busy and haven't had time to look for the video and send out the email link. Well, they certainly weren't too busy to take our money! To this date, we are still waiting for our video, and haven't even been contacted by phone or email that they are working on the request. Is an email or phone call to provide an update too much to ask? I think not. Extremely poor customer service! read more

It's my third sandbox VR experience. First time in emeryville location. I do NOT suggest coming to emeryville nor the seekers of the shard game. It was super glitchy for me and some of the other players (might have been a character dependent experience). When I complained to the staff, they didn't care and in fact seemed to remind me that I should have raised my hands more to stop the game. Only reason why it's 2 stars bc there were some players whose character/headsets didn't glitch. For the price paid ($55 per person), you shouldn't be dealing with a glitchy experience and zero customer service. It'll be my last time I bring my family here. Their loss. read more

When planning my 9yo son's party, I had a heck of a time trying to understand the layout of this place and what to expect, so I'll try to spare other parents this pain :) We had about 10 kids attending and were given the option of either booking two groups of six at the same time, or paying extra to book the "holodeck," which would allow one group of six at a time for up to three rounds over two hours. The holodeck option was problematic, in that the kids would be split up and waiting while the other half was playing, but it was the only option that allowed us to bring in food, so we went that route. We didn't realize that that the place is surrounded by tables and restaurants that made the holodeck unnecessary. From what I can tell, the "eating" option meant sticking a table outside the VR room with some food and letting the kids mill around and eat. Even though we paid for the holodeck, we opted to eat outside because it was easier and more pleasant. I wish I'd just booked two games at a time and eaten outside after. if you're able to schedule a morning or early afternoon party, you can book tables at Arthur Mac's and have a pizza party next door, which is a great option. Regardless, I recommend having the party early as the place fills up with teenagers in the early afternoon and chaos ensues. In lieu of goody bags, we gave the kids $6 gift cards to Humphrey Slocombe (located next to Sandbox) and they got ice cream on their way out. The VR experience itself was quite good. The staff took a while to get the kids suited up and then blamed the kids for their own delays, which was annoying but we sorted it out. The rounds then proceeded quickly and as planned. Everyone (including parents) had a great time. read more

The experience is cool if it actually worked 100% of the time for being so expensive. took my 3 kids my 2 older kids Guns didn't work felt like damn near half the time even having there hands raised the workers weren't attentive to fixing the issue took them forever to notice there hands were up. read more

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AT THIS LOCATION!! Go to the one in San Francisco instead. They are incredibly unorganized here. It took an hour to get to play and then we had several technical issues so we spent 2 hours there for something that should have took 30-40 minutes an hour tops! They need to get it under control before it's another failed business on Bay Street. read more

Great experience. Staff are amazing! Came with a party of 10. We booked for two (2) rooms. The experience comes with a video of you and your friends in the game. Which is pretty cool. They also do party packs ! read more

I am so surprised by the negative reviews. We dropped in, but you should make advance reservations. We came on a Saturday and they were able to get us in within 30 minutes. We just walked around the mall until it was our time. I did not find it disorganized at all. The whole process went smoothly and my kids had a great time. If your kid is into this kind of virtual reality, I highly recommend. read more

Had a great experience when it first opened, now it's very disorganized. Showed up 15 minutes early as the appointment said, but didn't get started more than an hour later (50 min later than scheduled). It's a cool experience, just schedule very early in the day or plan for waiting around. read more

Don't go or book here. The manager or location is completely disorganized. Booked an event here for a birthday and had a couple of friends schedule work off way in advance (booked about 3 weeks before the actual date/time). Was told on the day of by the manager that by booking time slot or room was no longer available due to room upgrades. Completely frustrated because a week before the the booking, I spoke with someone at the store to try and change the reservation because one of my friends couldn't make it. The employee told me that I could not get a refund and that I had to get a gift certificate (wtf am I going to do with 1 gift certificate). Later that day, I spoke with the manager to change the reservation and he informed me that since it was still a week in advance he would refund that amount back to my card and that the employee that I spoke with did not know what he was talking about. But overall upset, because he ended up canceling my reservation the same day of the reservation. If they would've informed me that my reservation was no longer available in advance, I would've left maybe a 2 star rating, but overall do not go to this location or even waste your time here. read more

Super fun! The experience was very immersive and all the gear was comfortable and worked great. Staff was very nice. We did the zombie experience with just two people and has a great time. Would definitely go back to try with another group, but I also don't feel like we had a sub par experience by having a small team either. Dress light and comfy, because with the gear and the adrenaline, it gets hot (despite the fans they keep on you)! read more

Sandbox VR - Zombie VR experience - Virtual Reality Centers Near Me - Emeryville, California

SOOO MUCH FUN ! We played Deadwood Valley where we killed zombies ! The staff were very nice and encouraging for screams and laughs ! And boyyy was I screaming , laughing and talking mess ! Haha . So it was a very comfortable setting ! And the graphics were on point ! As soon as you put on the gear you know it's on ! Very spacious ! Though it was just us two , for a party up to five or so it'll still be pretty spacious and you'll have elbow room for sure . Favorite part was the ending ! Dance party ! (: Definitely recommend it ! Code name DOUBLECHIN GANG ! Haha read more

We came here for a team bonding experience and it was a total fail. Although the staff was nice the experience itself was not so nice. A quarter way into the game the game started to get glitchy and several delays occurred causing us to stop several times during the game. We lost about 25 minutes out of 45 minutes of the game time and a player was excluded because they couldn't get their headset back online. We were told at that time that we would be awarded vouchers to return back to try again and that never came. After making 4 calls nothing has been awarded or credited. The staff or manager never followed through and this is very bad customer service. Don't waste your money here! read more

I gave this place five stars for the experience and the host Nasir he was amazing with the accommodations he went above and beyond to take care of our parties which happened to be scheduled at separate times got us in there quickly get this guy a raise!!! Thanks bro for making this a great outing!! read more

Poor customer service had my group waiting for over 30 mins with a reservation when the place was pretty much empty .there was only one other group actively playing while another was heading out . We were ignored and not given any instructions after checking in and signing waivers because the employee kept leaving us to take walk ins and the other employees were just standing around not helping at all . Once we were able finally play, the guns wasn't working properly and employees had lack luster attitude when helping us no care at all it was my fiancés birthday and this experience almost ruined his day. this business doesn't prioritize appointments over walk ins and customer service is poor. read more

Really fun can be a tad much for some. Great team building. Zombies are scary but they have pirates and space themes. Still talking about it. read more

it is a great place I recommend it to everyone the staff here is so lovely. the only problem every person is 50$ which is way too expensive for VR. read more

We arrived 2/18/23 to celebrate my husband's 40th bday to be told that we didn't arrive 10 minutes before our start time to "check in". The attendant then spent 15 minutes "explaining" he couldn't let us play as the 2 minutes past our start time would affect the team after us at which point I asked well you just spent 15 minutes talking to us and we could have started the game. This ruined the end of hubbies bday. We came back 2/19/23 to once again try and play and arrived 15 minutes before our scheduled time of 730pm. We were seated for over 30 minutes before being asked to move from the center of the seating area to a seating area near room 4. We are then told our start time will now be 8:15pm only for the attendant to then say the screen is stuck and your start time will be pushed back again as well as another group going before us for an hour long game. I am beyond frustrated as I do have to work tomorrow and this is beyond ridiculous for the price per person. Now we've been asked to move to a third seating area and I'm now pissed off. No water or snacks to be found, over my a 2 hour wait time, and offered a gift certificate to play again free. After my experience the first two times here I wouldn't even attempt to use the certificate as I'm sure we'd arrive to another slew of issues and excuses. Book elsewhere if you have a group of family/friends trying to hangout and have a good time. This has been a complete waste of time as we got into the game finally to play with lagging and glitching for maybe 10 minutes tops before being pulled out to recalibrate the game as we were told the morning crew didn't do so and were promised a gift certificate for our game being pushed back and one for the game lagging out and sent on our way. This is so disappointing as we had all worked around work schedules to meet for the second day in a row for this. Home we go once again defeated by Sandbox vr emeryville. The only nice thing I can say is the black male employee with the long wispy lashes and a very nice Latino male employee went above and beyond to try and get things fixed for us and calm us as they could see we were irritated. read more